Sky Inn
by TeresianLion
Summary: This is set after the movie ends, and after Jim went back home to his mother. Silver finds him again, and needs his help. Rumors have been heard by the pirate of treasure, but not just any treasure - the lost loot of Flint's trove, the gold he hadn't left on Treasure Planet. This is just another short little thing I've been working on. (I haven' forgotte about Claws and Fur/String)
1. Chapter 1

The boy winced upon being smacked in the back of the head.

"Did I ask fer yer opinion, lad?" Snapped the older, larger, half-metal man in a hushed shout. Gripping tightly to the dark cloak in his left hand, he shoved it towards the boy once more. "Now, put it on!"

Jim, annoyed, rolled his eyes. He still obeyed, though. He did not particularly desire another disorienting smack. Besides, it probably was for the best. Silver looked behind his back, briefly scoping the scene outside the dark alley they stood in. He knew from the start this was a bad idea. It was risky enough to walk through the empty streets at night, and now he had a boy he had to keep in check. A _human_ teenager. The cyborg turned his head back around and nodded once, seeing that he was dressed in the cloak. He pulled the hood down over his head forcibly.

"Keep that _low_," he growled.

Jim groaned, "Fine."

Most planets in most galaxies believe and accept all forms of life. Some only believe in life on their own planet. Others believe in life, but refuse to accept it's other forms. And, unfortunately, Herritika was a planet in the "others" category. Described in terms Jim's species can understand, Silver informed him that the inhabitants here were anthropomorphic, and it was built into their systems to only accept others like them. They didn't take too kindly to different species. When questioned, Silver also told the lad that he was accepted - in fact, he'd been there many times before - because he was what Jim would call zoomorphic. He was similar enough to get by.

However, Jim was not. Silver had purchased a large cloak for him, to which he immediately responded by calling it completely gay. Hence, the smack.

As these two step out of the shadows, inconspicuous, you may be wondering, why are they even on Herritika? It's a simple reason: treasure. Not that this place had any, but it contained a lead. Rumors had been floating around the galaxy, rumors that stayed out of the story books. Rumors saying that Flint had not buried the entirety of his loot on the machine planet. He might indeed have stashed a good portion of his legendary treasure on a distant rock circling a distant star, the locations of either the two had no clue.

A few months after Jim had returned home post-destruction of Treasure Planet, Silver had returned to the location of their little inn, excitedly rambling on about more or Flint's trove. Jim served him a drink and sat with him after he'd calmed down, and they discussed all Silver knew. Silver hadn't known much, but he knew where to start.

Billy Bones had been the son of one of Flint's youngest hands. After the captain had drunk himself to death, the crew reluctantly parted ways. Bones was born, and his father filled his head with all stories he had of being on Flint's crew. It was actually Bones who, once he'd gotten much older, told Silver about the map and helped lead the crew to it. Not much was known about his personal life, but Bones had more than once fondly mentioned his adopted daughter. He'd found her on one of their expeditions, abandoned and starving on some primitive planet, and raised her. Knowing Bones, Silver had more than enough evidence to believe that he'd told his daughter the same stories his father told him, and many more.

Bones' father is dead. Bones himself is dead. His daughter is alive. Billy Bones' home planet was that of Herritika, and he'd said that he was somehow able to get those in his town used to his daughter. She'd stayed there working at the inn where she lived, not unlike Jim. Silver said that he had no other trails or hints or clues, but thought that with Bones' daughter, they'd be able to somehow track down Flint's lost loot.

It had taken just as much convincing as the last time, but in the end Jim's mother, Sarah, was willing to let her son go on a treasure hunt yet again. This now lands Jim and Silver on Herritika, where the cyborg realized at the last moment his predicament with Jim. Although, he had high hopes for this black cloak. The things covered the lad's entire body, and the hood his head and face.

This was not Silver's first time here, to the inn, he'd actually been many times with Bones and his crew, and had already picked a precise landing spot as secluded and as close to the inn he could get. It'd worked; they hadn't been spotted.

Jim's feet shuffled lightly as he strolled behind Silver, obviously still peeved about wearing the cloak. Now that they were somewhat safer, Silver didn't see a point in rushing him. The cyborg kept pace with the teenager as they made their way down the street. The inn's bright windows and torchlit sign were seen in no time at all. Jim caught a glimmer of this in the corner of his eye and looked up some. Silver's hand came crashing down on his head again, a silent, forceful gesture telling him to not do that. Jim hissed, pulling his covered head from under the other's flesh hand. He did manage, though, to sneak a quick peek of the sign before Silver opened the door.

_Sky Inn_

Jim pondered over the name.

"Welcome!" A heavy voice shouted, dragging Jim back. "Will it be wine or spirits?"

The big man grinned widely at the automated greeting line. "If I never hear spirits again, it will be too soon!"

"Silver!" Shouted others in the bar. Two more voices it sounded like to Jim. They were excited and friendly.

The eyes of the bull bartender suddenly lit up in recognition. "Long John, is that you?"

The cyborg's heavy step approached the bar. "Aye, Durst! It be me, back again for a night's stay."

Durst reached over and patted Silver on his upper arm. "Aye, aye, whatever ye need!" He stopped abruptly when he caught sight of the dark form behind the man. "Who be with ye there, Silver?"

Jim felt his shoulder being gripped gently, the cyborg pulling him up next to him. "This here is me daughter. Figured I'd take her on a little. . .Father-Daughter trip." He chuckled, slapping Jim on the back in a friendly way. It was on the tip of the boy's tongue to snap, but he knew he couldn't do anything about this. Silver was well aware of it too, and he was going to take full advantage.

"Daughter?" Asked the dark brown feline further down the bar. "I didn't know you were married, Long John."

"I'm not!" Then the entire bar erupted in laughter. Two drunk idiots, a bartender, and Silver. Jim didn't know how loud four people could get.

Up above, unknowing to them all, was the daughter of Billy Bones. She sat quietly atop the stairs, staring down at the five.

One of her elongated ears twitched; she'd lost interest in what they were talking about.

Catching his breath, Durst stated, "You'll be marrying her off soon, given your age?" He gave the cloaked figure a once-over.

Silver grabbed Jim's other shoulder and pulled him into his side. "Aye, but not to you!" Jim was seriously about to punch him.

"Let's at least see her face, eh?" A wolf jeered, holding up his ale.

The cyborg held up his mechanical hand. "Oh, no, couldn't do that to her. Lass got her face burned, you see, and while _I_ admit she's fine, _she_'s refused to show herself."

The toned canine looked like he was going to say more, but Durst cut him off.

"Aye, if she wants to be that way, let 'er."

Jim kicked Silver's flesh and blood leg quickly and unnoticeable to the rest. He drew his chin down in a sharp nod, now slowly making his way over to the furthest table. Silver had had enough fun. "And, we'll have a meal while were here as well!"

"Menu's not changed!" Reminded the warthog.

Jim kicked Silver again, harder this time. "Just bring us the special!"

The cyborg plopped down on the side facing the bar, Jim with his back to it. As soon as they'd sat Jim once more kicked Silver in the leg. He glared at him, threatening to kick back.

"What's that for, lad? Yer gonna give me a bruise the size o' the ship!"

"What was with calling me a girl?" Jim snarled in a hushed shout, like how they had in the alley.

"I was only havin' a bit of fun, is all." He found it in himself to smirk.

"Well stop it! It's humiliating, Silver!"

He slammed his fist on the table, whisper-yelling, "Better'n seein' you shot dead!"

"Piss off old man, you know what you did."

Silver quickly brought his leg up and kicked Jim's shin. Certainly not his full strength, but enough to shut him up for a moment. and in that moment, they both decided it was best not to spend the trip this way. After all, there's no way they'd find the treasure if the brutish pirate couldn't team up with the technical wonder child, right? Jim gritted his teeth. He needed the money just as much as Silver. He cleared his throat, looking down with his hand on his forehead.


	2. Chapter 2

"So what's Bones' daughter look like anyway? What kinda creature is she?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Jim off about how racist he was sounding, but he went a different route. "Trust me, lad, ye will know her when ye see her." He paused for a moment, watching Jim tap his finger against the wooden table. "And don't act so anxious." The boy raised an eyebrow, looking up but not moving his head. His finger did not cease. "The fun hasn't even started yet, and, honestly, I d'n't even know if she can help us."

"Silver I did not come all the way out here with you for nothing. I am not returning home empty-handed."

His attention spiked when he understood the boy's tone. "Careful, lad. Even wolves howl with their jaws half shut."

Jim jerked his head in the jackal's direction. "Oh you mean like him over there?"

"Joshua's no stranger to punks."

"Whatever. We'll see what happens."

Silver grabbed the lad's face, pulling it erect as he looked into his eyes. "Yer mother put me in charge of ye, and I be dammed if I return ye worse than I borrowed ya!" He let go, and Jim rubbed his jaw. "Ye'll not be stealing anything from anyone, lad."

Silence passed between the two of them, Jim back to tapping on the table and Silver looking at the door through the corner of his eye. He'd been suspicious every since they'd begun landing. Jim noticed it off the bat, and thought to ask Silver about it. Of course, the cyborg gave no detail and brushed off Jim's speculation. The boy continued to notice the watchful mechanical eye of the older man flicker this way and that, but didn't ask him about it after that. He couldn't conceive of any real danger they were in, besides the fact that Jim was a human. No, Silver's suspicion seemed to have a more purposeful intent; however, Jim was starting to think that it was nothing more than instinct he was giving in to. That it was something countless years of roaming space as a wanted fugitive had chiseled into his brain. And so, more silence. Then. . .

"Kiita!"

Jim jumped as the bartender suddenly shouted. Silver chuckled. "A bit jumpy there, lad?"

"No," he said defensively. "I just. . .felt something crawling on my ass." This in itself was enough to make the large man laugh heartily. Jim's cheeks flushed. Because of the "this is my daughter" spiel, he couldn't even shout at the cyborg to shut his fat face. It probably would've earned him a slap across the face anyway.

Between Silver laughing and Jim being embarrassed, neither noticed as the adopted daughter of Billy Bones leapt up from her perch, jumping down the stairs and passing right behind them. She went into the kitchen, coming out a second later with two full plates of food.

Between Silver laughing and Jim being embarrassed, neither noticed as the adopted daughter of Billy Bones leapt up from her perch, jumping down the stairs and passing right behind them. She went into the kitchen, coming out a second later with two full plates of food.

This girl was not unlike her father in many ways. She was an adventurous, sassy little thing, and on more than one occasion her mouth had gotten her into worse trouble than she could handle. However, this trouble was mostly involving the man Bones put in place to care for her. The girl hardly ever had the chance to leave the inn, for even though the townspeople had grown accustomed to having one of her here, she still disgusted many and couldn't bring herself to deal with the discriminating looks and calls. Her spirit had grown in a confined safe haven ever since she was four years old. Bones came to visit her when he could, but also brought the whole crew along. They sang songs and got drunk downstairs, and the daughter of the first mate was happy as could be to be their waitress. This was the only outside socialization she got, and even then it was hardly any.

But, when the crew did some barging in, she wouldn't waste a second of the time she had. They all knew her, they were all nice to her. Sometimes they'd come after her bedtime, but of course, that didn't stop her. She'd mark the dates they'd come (once every two months!) and she'd stay up and wait for them. She used to sit atop the stairs, out of sight, and listen to their tales of glorious adventures. She was swept into a world of pulsar-tossed excitement and embattled men. She'd often feel like she had lived the adventures with them; she got a sore arm from wielding a cutlass, pistol smoke in her eyes, and for the longest time wasn't content with small change after she'd filtered through a chestful of gold.

The daughter absolutely loved their visits. She'd count down the days, and they'd always barge in cheering about some accomplishment on the very same date. It happened for a couple of years, but then one day. . .they just stopped coming. The girl became worried, and stayed up all night waiting, but they didn't show up. They didn't show the next time either, or the time after that. She'd been alone here for all of those years - she was nearly eighteen now. Naturally, it'd struck her stiff when she heard the deep voiced line of never wanting to hear of spirits again. Her sassy attitude had gotten her grounded, again, and henceforth she wasn't allowed downstairs if not to serve customers. But when she heard the voice of Long John Silver, she couldn't help herself. The nostalgic feeling flowed as she stepped to the beginning of the stairs, peering down. Her first instinct was to run down and engulf him in a bear hug like she used to, but two things held her back.

One, half of the man wasn't there. Something had happened to Silver, something the daughter had never gotten wind of until now, seeing the cyborg for herself. She was shocked and, honestly, a little frightened. Secondly, there was someone else with him. A person dressed in a gay-looking black cloak was standing behind him. She was curious, but also a bit shy.

Then, he introduced the figure as his daughter.

The girl felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart. She didn't know why, but hearing Silver say he had a daughter. . . The whole crew had always felt like her family. They cared for her and she cared for them, and now someone new was intruding into this family. Even though his daughter looked about as old as she was, the girl had never heard anything about it. She started scolding herself for the irrational feeling of distrust that was growing inside of her chest, along with sadness and a little bit of anger. The whole crew had stopped visiting her, and this made her feel scared. She was feeling sad now that, after all this time, one of them had finally returned, but with his affections towards another in his care. She was feeling anger as well, because she'd always thought she'd be the baby. She'd always thought that one day they'd all come back for her and take her with them to live their adventurous lives and make her own stories. But, those things never happened. Had this newcomer gained those things? She knew what she was feeling towards the both of them was unjust, but she couldn't help her emotions.

She instead tried to tune them out, telling herself that she didn't care who it was down there. Her ear twitched and she'd tried to think of other things.

This efforts were fruitless, though, when Durst had shouted for her at the top of his lungs. Nikiita had ignored the cyborg's laughter and shut out his daughter, but found that it was difficult to do when Durst had told her to bring the food to their table.

Nikiita had no clue what to do, what with the swirling vortex inside of her, and just plopped the food on the table. She didn't look either in the eye, just set it down and started back towards the stairs.

"Steady on, there, lass!" Silver chuckled, waving his arm out to her. "Is that really you?"

She slowly turned back around. Silver's smile grew.

"Aye, it be! Nikiita, 'tis been too long!" He opened up his arms.

Nikiita did nothing, only stared at his metal half. The hand outstretched towards her made her freeze up. Silver's smile faltered some, but then his eyes glinted. He stood from his chair and wrapped her in his arms himself.

"I've just had a bit of an upgrade is all; no need to be scared."

She pushed herself out of his surprisingly warm embrace. Now the large man's face fell completely. He looked at her silently, waiting for her to speak next, and Jim could do nothing else but sit at the table and watch the awkward scene unfold. He poked at his food a couple of times, but the twitching beige blob had caused him to loose his appetite.

Nikiita's voice was dark, and she spoke through gritted teeth. "Why. . .are you here?"

A half-smile slowly appeared. "Why, to see-"

"And don't lie! I've heard enough space-faring tales to know when a pirate lies."

The cyborg blinked, then chuckled, sitting back down in his chair. "Aye, I knew'd you grew. It just didn't cross me mind how you'd grow into such a hostile woman."

She put her hand on her hip. "I'm sure you've seen it in your daughter. After all, she's got your genes."

"Oh, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion lass."

She took her hand off her hip now. "And you never answered my question."

He shrugged. "Aye, I tried." She just blinked at him. He continued. "We're here to see you, dear."

Nikiita laughed once. "Really? Where have you been for the past fourteen years?" She looked around sarcastically. "And where's everybody else?"

"It's a bit of a long story. But it's because of that story that we're here now." Nikiita rolled her eyes at this. Her anger was fueling her sass, and her sass was making her angry. "Kiita, it's about Will."

"Will my ass! I don't even know who that is!"

It suddenly occurred to Silver that, when in Nikiita's company, they'd almost never called Bones by his first name, let alone his actual name. "Sweeite, he's your pop."

"Why on Herritika wouldn't he just come here, then?"

Silver put his hand on his forehead for a brief moment. What he was telling her wasn't calming her down at all, just making her more angry. There's no way he could get through to her now. "There's something impor'nt we three need to talk about. We'll be stayin' a night here; swing by our room when ye're ready to talk, and we can discuss business down here."

Her jaw quivered. "Fine! It's not like I wanted to talk to you anyway." She turned around and stormed up the stairs.

"So," Jim started once she was gone. "That's Bones' daughter?" Silver sighed. Jim whistled. "Quite the handful."

The cyborg looked back at the stairs where Nikiita had just been. He stared wistfully, remembering some time long ago. "She wa'n't always like that, Jimbo. This be the first time I'm seein' her in such a long time. Granted, I'm not her dad, but still - I used to know her so well, and now she's like a stranger to me."

The boy's heart pounded in his chest. Those were the very same words he'd heard his mother use when she was talking about him. Back when he was angry and everything and everyone. It hurt. It hurt to know that was how his mother viewed him. Even he knew that wasn't the real him, but Jim just didn't know how to deal with his anger. He vented everywhere, but that only made him angrier. Jim had now realized that this girl, Nikiita, didn't know that her father was dead. She was angry. Was she angry at Bones from leaving her here? That he didn't know. But with as much as he could gather from experience, Jim held pity for her. He was regretting his insult he'd spilled a moment ago, staring into Silver's eyes, which were turning back to his food.

"Come on, lad," he said. "Let's eat."


	3. Chapter 3

Jim's appetite truly had been lost, and he couldn't bring himself to finish the meal. Silver had pushed him to try it, but in the end he had to eat the lad's food. Not that it was an issue, but he felt Jim needed to eat something. They'd figure it out tomorrow, he decided. It's not like Jim was starving.

By this time, the two other patrons in the bar, Joshua and the horse, had left drunk as could be. The night was getting old, the time was late. Silver thanked his old friend for the meal and arranged for a room upstairs.

"I'm sorry Long John, afraid we're full tonight," Durst had said.

Silver narrowed his eyes, then pulled out three pieces of eight, dropping them on the counter with a loud clang. The emptiness of the bar only intensified the sound, and ended up making Jim's ears ring slightly. The treasures made the warthog's eyes light up, and he snatched it up, saying that a room just became vacant. Upstairs, the second door to the right.

"Generous with our money, eh?" Jim scoffed as they walked away.

He smiled that signature smile at the lad. "Easy plunder, easy go."

Jim couldn't help but smile back. "You're gonna make us broke."

Their room wasn't as bad as Jim figured it'd be. It was almost as nice as the rooms at his own inn; _almost_. It was clean or one thing, and the walls were bare but not chipping away. There was a single large window on the wall adjacent to the door. The curtains has been pulled back and the window opened just slightly, letting in a refreshing breeze. There were two single beds (which Jim was very thankful for) and a nightstand in between them with a brightly lit lantern resting atop it. A small bathroom was also connected, separated by a closed door as the closet was. The rest of their room was completely empty, save for a large armchair, making it feel open. At the same time though, a tad lonely. It was alright for Jim; he had Silver.

Speaking of whom, the first thing the cyborg did when he entered was sit down at the edge of one of the beds, sighing in relief to be off his feet. He started to tinker with some of the parts of his mechanical leg whilst Jim plopped down in the armchair.

"Finally, I can take this gay-ass thing off." Silver glanced once to the window, then the door, then remained silent, letting Jim take off his cloak. "It was freaking hot under there, too," he said as he threw it on the floor. "At least I don't have to worry about it much longer."

Silver mumbled something under his breath, something that Jim didn't catch all the way. He did hear one word, though - sabotage. Jim frowned. Before he even thought about his words, he blurted out, "What was that? Sabotage?"

The cyborg looked up from his tinkering and smiled. "Oh, nothing, lad." Then went back to work.

Jim continued frowning. His previous deduction had led him to believe this was nothing but paranoid instinct the pirate was showing. These mysterious words drove him off course. Silver was worried about something in particular. But what, exactly? Were they being watched? Was Silver expecting to meet someone, or trying to avoid them? Who, even? Jim hadn't the slightest inkling. He took a long minute or so of silence, caught in an internal heated debate between himself on whether to ask the cyborg what was up or not. There's a chance he'd brush him off, or he'd feed him some lie. There's also the possibility that he'd tell Jim the truth. Or get mad at him for asking a second time. Right there, that's a three to one chance he'd get a remotely satisfying answer. Jim was about to loose the debate, and just try to not notice what Silver was doing, but then he was suddenly filled with a sense of pride. If he'd already been through so much with this man, and had agreed to go through this agonizing adventure all over again, doesn't he have the right to know? Jim clapped his hands together.

"Okay, what's up? For real."

"What do ye mean, Jimbo?" He didn't look up.

"That shit right there - cut it out. You know what I'm talking about."

"'Tis just routine for a space dog to be cautious."

Jim mocked his speech. "'Tis just routine for a space dog to mention being sabotaged."

Silver glanced at him, visually warning him, then continued fiddling. "It'd only scare you, lad. One of us has to be sane."

"Scare me?" He managed to puff out his chest while sitting. "Please! I'd rather like to know what we're up against."

The cyborg stopped working completely. He sat up straight and faced the boy across the room. He was silent for a moment, looking over Jim's face. He was about to start off slowly, opening his mouth with the intent to speak, but never did. The door to their room suddenly opened, without even a warning of a knock. It hadn't flew open, slamming against the wall, but opened wide enough for a person and fast enough that neither had time to react.

Standing in the doorway was Nikiita, looking first at Silver with an apologetic gleam in her eyes, but then her gaze flickered over to the other person in the room. All was still, all was silent, then Silver mumbled a curse word, and Nikiita sprang.

Her face turned into a hideous scowl as she leapt at Jim, using her own form to topple the boy from his chair. She grabbed his shoulders as they tumbled and shoved his chest against the windowsill, his head neck and shoulders out the window. In this time, Nikiita had managed to pull a personal dagger from her shoe, and had the item now pressed against the back of Jim's neck. She heaved her upper body against his back, pushing the air out of his lungs as he held him down, using her free arm to hold his behind his back at a painful angle.

"John, go! I've got it!" She shouted.

"F. . .fuck!" Jim hissed as he tried to get out of the hold.

Nikiita kneed his ass, shoving the blade harder against his skin. "Stop squirming!" She turned around and looked at the cyborg desperately. "Why aren't you running?"

Silver stood up and said casually, "Well, because there be no need to."

"No need? W-what're you-!" Then she stopped, realizing something. Nikiita took the blade of the human's neck and handed it to Silver. "Are you going to finish it off?"

He didn't take the knife.

"Why not? This thing ate your daughter! I see her cloak right there!"

"Lass, that thing. . ." he cleared his throat. "Is my daughter."

Nikiita slowly moved off the human. "Um, what?"

Jim shoved himself off the windowsill and against the wall, gasping for air. "She nearly killed me!" He yelled, rubbing the back of his neck.

It hadn't taken Silver as long as he thought, but there was still some trouble convincing Nikiita that not all humans are evil, and that they certainly don't eat other bipedal intelligent beings like she'd been brought up to believe. This might seem like a sudden and unrealistic change of heart, but keep in mind two things: Nikiita was still cautious and doubtful of the cyborg's words even after she'd tried to grasp the concept, and even though this was how she was raised, there was that part of her that sympathized and truly didn't believe the words. Besides, it was not just strictly the human species. She was raised to think that all those who weren't like Herritikans were evil. She wasn't Herritikan; they hated her. Was is so just for her to harbor hate for the human? Paranoia and caution, perhaps, but anger? Maybe if she'd actually been born there and told to hate others, instead of being brought and catching on.

Silver had been able to calm Nikiita, and had decided it best to stay in the room and speak instead of moving downstairs, where Jim would have to wear the cloak and hardly speak. Silver explained the story to Nikiita about the rumor of Captain Flint's lost treasure. He didn't dare mention the "loot of a thousand worlds" for fear that story would take up too much valuable time. Jim still caught the cyborg glancing at the window as he told the story. When he finished, he gave her a moment to let it sink in. It took her a long time to find the right words, glancing between Silver and Jim and then back to he ground. Finally, her head tilted slowly up, looking over at the older man.

"Why do you need me? Why not just find my dad? I'm sure he knows more about it than me."

Silver bit his tongue. He had no time to explain the mutinous bastard's evil deeds and how he'd been shot down by Long John himself, eventually landing on Jim's front porch and perishing in his house. The boy was watching the cyborg intently, and picked up on his nervous hesitation. He glanced down at his lap, standing, then slowly moved towards Nikiita. For reasons of personal composure, Silver allowed the lad to continue.

Jim cleared his throat, and Nikiita turned in his direction. "Nikiita, I'm not sure exactly how to say this. . .but. . ." He paused, kneeling down next to the armchair she sat in. As he did this, something popped into his brain. "There's something B-, your dad, wants you to know. He wanted me to tell you. . .that he wished he could've been with his daughter more. He says that he's sorry, and that he loves you. He said that he loves his little girl and regrets every second he missed of you growing up. He wants to be with you right now, and said it was his own greedy, stupid mistake he couldn't."

Nikiita stared at him. Her eyes were getting red; she'd alluded to what he was trying to say, but didn't think i was true. "How do you know this?"

He swallowed. "Because I was the last person your father was with before he passed."

Her lip quivered as she registered, then she slowly started to cry, with only a single tear rolling off her cheek.

"He says he misses you." She looked away. "He wants you to know he loves you."

"Stop," she whispered. "Just. . .stop." She stood up and excused herself, saying she needed a moment. Nikiita left the room, closing the door behind her. Jim turned to Silver and shrugged.

"That was brilliance, Jimbo!" He complimented. "Got any more of them magic words to get her to agree?"

He stood and leaned against the wall. "What makes ya think she'll say no? It's a way of. . .keeping her father's legacy alive!"

Silver chuckled, shaking his head. "Ye really do strive in ev'ry department, eh?"

"What can I say?"

"Everyt'ing right, apparently!"

He gave Silver a troubled expression. "Not as often as you'd think."

The metal hand waved. "Oh, I know t'at, lad."

A little while later, Nikiita came back into the room, opening the door slowly so they knew it was her. Her eyes were more red and puffy than before, but neither said anything, and allowed her to speak. She began once she sat back in the armchair, looking down with her elbows on her knees.

"Dad left me here when I was still so young. I know that. He made Durst my godfather, and put him in charge of me. I know that too. He was a pirate, a wanted fugitive. I know that. I know these things because I was told them." She tilted her gaze up towards the back wall. "I can't remember what he looks like. I don't know what he sounds like. I didn't even know his name. Nothing." She bit her lip. "He's my father. Not even my real one, but he was the closest thing I could call my dad."

"Does that mean you'll help us, lass?" Silver asked.

Nikiita nodded.


End file.
